Art of accommodation

Andrew McCredie09.06.2012

The Fairmont Pacific Rim is one of the most interesting architectural buildings in downtown Vancouver. (Photographer: Paul Warchol Paul
/ Vancouver Sun

A Liam Gillick poem rings the fifth through 22nd floors of the Fairmont Pacific Rim, providing inspiration for passersby and also a clever visual device to make the massive building appear not so bulky. (Credit: submitted photo) [PNG Merlin Archive]
/ Vancouver Sun

The Hotel Listel’s gallery is a popular attraction with guests and also well visited by the passing public.
/ Vancouver Sun

Arriving guests at the Hotel Georgia are greeted by Douglas Coupland’s interpretation of Canada’s masterful Group of Seven in the form of six prints entitled Casson, Lismer, Harris, MacDonald, Johnston and Thompson. (Credit: submitted photo) [PNG Merlin Archive]
/ Vancouver Sun

Travel AOA s.listel1.jpg: Colourful paintings in the Listel Hotel attract guests and the general public to pause and take in the artwork. (Credit: Darrell Lecorre/Special to the Sun) [PNG Merlin Archive]
/ Vancouver Sun

The first is the old school one, such as you’ll find in the Banff Springs Hotels of the world, where the in-house artwork is a direct reflection of the surroundings and of the clientele’s old world and monied tastes. Things like moose heads, dark mountain vistas on canvas and the prerequisite paintings of fruit bowls. There’s often a suit of armor or two thrown in for affect.

The second, more modern, approach is of the cookie-cutter approach, embraced by the large hotel chains and their bulk-buying outfitters. In these, the exact same inoffensive large-scale paintings will grace the lobbies of all the company’s properties, giving guests no idea where they are in the world apart from being in a chain hotel.

Likewise, the guest room artwork is repeated ad nauseam from room to room, from floor to floor in all the properties.

But lately, hotel operators and owners have been putting more thought into the art that hangs in their lobbies and in their guest rooms.

In Vancouver, a handful of large and boutique hotels have embraced that philosophy to the point that wandering through their lobbies and hallways is akin to a visiting an art galley. And in some cases, the building themselves are works of art.

Two such examples — the Fairmont Pacific Rim and the Rosewood Hotel Georgia — have taken somewhat different approaches in integrating art into their respective properties, which is not too much of a surprise as the former is a 21st Century building, while the latter, though totally renovated just a year ago, represents the great architecture of the early 20th Century.

Completed just prior to the 2012 Winter Olympics, the Fairmont Pacific Rim is itself a work of art.

Designed by James KM Cheng Architect for Vancouver developer Westbank, it is the largest building by square-footage in downtown Vancouver, yet thanks to some clever visual tricks incorporating art, it’s mass is not readily apparent.

“The interesting part for me is the idea of integrating art into the architecture, and using the art to add another layer to the architecture,” explains Westbank founder and president Ian Gillespie, adding this played a large role in the Pacific Rim property. “The challenge there was this is a large building, and by using a series of solutions — in this case words — you broke that mass down.”

The ‘words’ he speaks of are familiar to anyone who works, lives or visits downtown: “lyingontopofabuildingthecloudslookednonearertahnwhenIwaslyinonthestreet.”

Those words of UK poet Liam Gillick are repeated around each floor of the hotels exterior from the fifth to 22nd storey.

Says Gillespie: “I look at a building like the Pacific Rim as a great big canvas, so why don’t we put up some art that is 20 stories high, instead of something you almost have to trip over to discover?”

Just as much thought has gone into the interior spaces of the Pacific Rim, most notably through the use of photographs, a medium that has carved out a world-renowned niche in the city and one much favoured by Gillespie.

There are lightboxes in each of the Pacific Rim’s guest rooms featuring foliage and forest settings from the North Shore.

“That’s a medium that Jeff Wall has made very popular in Vancouver and Rodney Graham with the lightboxes, and we thought they were a good opportunity to use for the guest rooms,” Gillespie explains.

There’s also photo-based pieces in Giovane, the hotel’s cafe and wine bar.

“I think the way you need to think about this kind of photo-based medium is that it isn’t about photography, it’s about what you’re communicating with when you look at it,” says Gillespie, citing the Sam Douglas riot photo at the Woodward’s building, also a Westbank project. “The way you think about that piece is that it’s a move encapsulating one photograph. It’s almost a historical piece.”

History is one of the major attractions at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, a downtown landmark opened in 1927 and reopened last year after an extensive five-year renovation by new owner the Delta Group and managing partner Rosewood.

From the start of that renovation, says Delta Land Group’s Bruce Langereis, the incorporation of artwork was top-of-mind of all involved.

“As we moved forward with the passion and vision of renovating and restoring this building and its heritage, and given the proximity to the art gallery, we set out to make art a big part of our public spaces,” says Langereis. “And specifically Canadian art and artists.”

To that, Vancouver-based Farmboy Fine Arts was hired to oversee the selection and acquisition of what today is one of the finest collections in any hotel in the country.

“Delta was very focused on developing a collection that was specifically about Vancouver, and Western Canadian content,” explains Farmboy founder Todd Towers. “The Hotel Georgia is a historic hotel in this city, so we thought it would be a great compliment to not only the property but also the city to pay homage to the great artists we have in Vancouver and in Western Canada.”

They did just that, bringing in the works of Patrick Hughes, Douglas Coupland, Guido Molinari and Jack Shadbolt, among others

Continued Towers: “The hotel is so beautiful in terms of its architecture, there’s a real stepping back in time feel when walking through it, but we wanted to set that off with works that were a little more contemporary.

“It’s nice collection that has conversation about Vancouver and about Western Canada.”

Bruce Langereis says the collection is a perfect fit with the hotel.

“The quality of the hotel is consistent with the quality of the art,” he notes. “There’s a mix of art and styles, and we’re very glad to get the aboriginal art pieces in there to reflect the area’s heritage.

“And the Patrick Hughes piece in the lobby is very enchanting.”

On that note, Hughes is expected to stay at the hotel in early October to open his new collection at the Windsor Gallery and to host an art panel discussion event at Rosewood Hotel Georgia’s Spanish Ballroom on October 4 at 5:30 p.m. Info here.The event will be ticketed and open to the public. Visit the hotel’s Facebook page for more information.

Farmboy has made a name for itself internationally working with hotels brands to build in-house art collections since 2000. Clients past and present include, among others Marriott, Starwood, Hilton, Wynn and MGM in Vegas, Four Seasons and Fairmont, and according to Towers, “we’ve probably done over 1,700 hotels in the last 12 years.”

He says many hotel brands have always been very cognizant of what fine art does for their environments, but lately some are taking a more focussed approach to developing collections inside of their properties. He adds building such collections represents an opportunity for hotel owners to create more value inside of their environments beyond just the decorative component for two reasons

“One, they understand their guests have become much more global; and second, since the financial markets are a little funky right now, if they can develop a collection that is an asset, it can have not just a visual aspect but also an investment aspect.”

What’s also changing, according to Westbank’s Gillespie, who’s Shangri-La hotel in Vancouver also boast an extensive art element, is the way developers look at public art.

“What we considered public art in the past is a guy goes out and buys a big sculpture, puts it out on the lawn in front of a building, and wow, that’s public art!” Gillespie says with intended sarcasm.

But that’s missing the point of taking advantage of a great opportunity, he contends.

One of the reasons the city of Vancouver has been quite flexible with Westbank is that it has been using more money on its art elements to its buildings than it is required to spend.

“I’d like to think it is just because we are good guys, good citizens, but the truth is we are getting more value than we are spending. We think it’s a good investment.”

He also thinks its good for keeping customers.

“We own the (Pacific Rim) hotel and hopefully will do so for many generations, and for me, adding the art work is just part of keeping layering on. So the next time a guest comes its become a little more interesting than the last time they were here.”

A good example of this, and proof it’s not just big properties like the Pacific Rim and Hotel Georgia, can be found at the Listel Hotel, a boutique property on Robson Street.

That relationship began with the installation of 130 pieces of art into guest rooms when the hotel first opened, and continues with the gallery supplying original and unique art work to rooms on its Gallery and Museum floors.

“Part of the problem in Vancouver is that we don’t have any big corporate head offices to support local artists,” concludes Gillespie. ““One thing I can say about Vancouver is we have a very vibrant art scene despite the lack of corporate support. That’s just testimony to the fact we have this school of contemporary art here, and that’s put us on the map globally.”

And it doesn’t hurt that Vancouver hotels are turning into art galleries of their own.

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